- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/winrock-international/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Tue, 10 Sep 2019 22:30:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 $2.25 million gift to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to help secure Rockefeller legacy in Arkansas /news-archive/2019/09/10/rockefeller-gift-arkansas-history/ Tue, 10 Sep 2019 22:30:15 +0000 /news/?p=75088 ...]]> The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has gifted $2.25 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas, including the notable contributions of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller. The gift, announced Sept. 10 at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, will create the Winthrop Rockefeller Archival Fund, a quasi-endowment. It is the sixth largest cash gift in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s history. Funds will be used to preserve, house, and catalog historical items from the Rockefeller Collection and to support topics and activities related to the center’s mission. “Almost a half a century ago, Arkansas lost a great leader, and I lost a friend with the passing of Winthrop Rockefeller,” said Marion Burton, executive trustee of the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. “The trust that bears his name was established at the time of his death and has carried on his vision for the state. “The Charitable Trust and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center have been good partners in bringing the Arkansas story to the community. The Trustees have always carefully considered the impact of its donations, and this gift was no exception. The Charitable Trust recognizes the strengths and reputation of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and is pleased to make this further commitment to their work.” The collection is comprised of papers, memorabilia, and historic records related to Gov. Rockefeller, Arkansas’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction and celebrated philanthropist. The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust donated the collection to the center in 1980. The Rockefeller Collection, which was instrumental in establishing ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s archives program, represents the center’s largest collection with more than 2,000 boxes. The gift will allow the center to create educational activities, research initiatives, and events associated with the Rockefeller Collection and other collections housed in the center. “I want to thank Will Rockefeller and his family for their support for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the state,” said Deborah Baldwin, director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and associate provost for collections and archives. “We hope that the family will continue to see the center as the place to secure the Arkansas Rockefeller legacy. We are pleased that the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has confidence in our vision and execution of the work.” Baldwin said plans for the center include increasing its archives to include collections of underrepresented groups that will complement its collection of records related to state leaders. The center will also increase efforts to digitize collections housed in the archive, making this historic information more accessible to the public. “Our archival collections can become a more complete reflection of the state’s people and organizations,” Baldwin said. “Scholars can better explore the ‘why’ questions of history with more complete information. This gift will make a difference. Positive change is a hallmark of Winthrop Rockefeller’s work. Behind all of these initiatives is our goal to inspire people to engage with Arkansas history and the future it maps for us.” Additionally, the center will offer more educational opportunities for students by granting awards to conduct research and providing experiential learning opportunities. “The Department of History views this remarkable gift as a watershed moment in its efforts to prepare students for professional careers through experiential education,” said Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History. “The Center for Arkansas History and Culture has long been an indispensable partner of our graduate program in Public History. Under the leadership of Dr. Baldwin, the center has trained a generation of graduate students who have gone on to become leaders in the humanities in central Arkansas and beyond.” Porter added that the center’s “hands-on experiences and cutting-edge technologies for undergraduates offer an applied dimension of archival education that is unparalleled in Arkansas.” The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust was created by Gov. Rockefeller in 1972 to support charitable organizations. Rockefeller moved to Arkansas in 1953 where he established Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms, chaired the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, and initiated many philanthropic projects. Rockefeller’s progressive and philanthropic vision is reflected in the papers he left behind and remains alive through the work of organizations he founded and inspired. “Governor Rockefeller believed that if others knew more about his adopted state, they would value it as much as he did,” said Burton. “They would then want to visit and invest in the place he chose as home.” The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center has created special digital archive projects with the assistance of the Charitable Trust for educational programs for teachers and others around the state. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture The Center for Arkansas History and Culture collects, keeps safe, and makes available Arkansas history that connects people to each other and their shared experiences. The center collects materials on a variety of topics, with a strength in materials related to Arkansas governors, state legislators, civil rights history, environmental issues, urban and metropolitan development, family papers, the built environment, and women’s history. Reflecting the changes Arkansas has experienced over time, the center seeks additional collections in underrepresented populations and on cultural organizations. Collections are primarily paper, but also include multimedia and digital material. In the upper right photo, Deborah Baldwin, front left, associate provost of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, watches archive footage of the Rockefellers with Rockefeller family members, Win Rockefeller Jr, center, Will Rockefeller, far back, and Lisenne Rockefeller, right, during an event at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown announcing a $2.25 million gift from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas. Photo by Ben Krain.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student selected for minority women business owner accelerator program /news-archive/2019/02/18/minority-women-owner-accelerator/ Mon, 18 Feb 2019 14:01:12 +0000 /news/?p=73440 ...]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been selected for a competitive new entrepreneur accelerator program for early-stage, minority, and women-owned businesses in Arkansas. Nora Bouzihay, a doctoral student in education from Jonesboro, is one of 10 participants in the Arkansas Women’s Business Center and Remix Ideas’ unique program designed to support a segment of entrepreneurs that is often overlooked. A part of Winrock International, the Arkansas Women’s Business Center helps women-owned small businesses start, grow, and compete in global markets by providing quality training, counseling, and access to capital. Momentum, the five-week accelerator program, is unique in that it targets early-stage startups with little to no revenue, some of which have not yet been organized or incorporated. “What we found is that central Arkansas has really developed a pretty robust system of entrepreneur support organizations,” said Chauncey Pettis, director of the Arkansas Women’s Business Center. “However, there is still a disconnect between women in the minority communities and these support organizations. These women have less access to mentorships, training opportunities, and access to capital. Historically, women entrepreneurs are 50 percent less likely to receive capital than their male counterparts.” Bouzihay launched her hijab and scarf company in March 2018 in honor of her grandmother, a strong woman who encouraged her granddaughter to blossom in life. “My company is called Nowara Co,” Bouzihay said. “Nowara was a nickname my grandmother had given me growing up. It means flower in Arabic. My grandmother inspired me to blossom and to grow into a strong woman who could help other women and girls be strong.” Bouzihay’s grandmother passed way in 2017, and she began to plan the start of her company to encompass her grandmother’s legacy. “When my grandmother passed way, I thought, ‘What better way to inspire and empower young women and girls than through scarves?” she said. Nowara Co’s scarves have been sold across the world, including Canada, Germany, and Abu Dhabi. For every three scarves Bouzihay’s company sells, one will go to a refugee overseas. Although refugees receive food, clothes, health supplies, and water, they do not receive scarves, Bouzihay said. As a part of Momentum, Bouzihay and the other participants meet once a week with Pettis for workshops, guest speakers, and mentorship. “They give us hands-on teaching on how to be a business owner,” Bouzihay said. “We are learning how to manage our finances, how to write business plans, how to use marketing tools, and how to pitch your business to investors. Being a part of Momentum is an honor that was not expected. I am very humble and thankful to be a part of it. It’s been a great experience.” Pettis said Bouzihay was chosen for the program because of her excellent application, unique business model, and passion for entrepreneurship. “Nora is a very passionate participant who is coachable. We believe in what she is doing and believe with a little bit of assistance she can be very successful,” Pettis said. “She’s been invaluable to the class and has been a full participant that has soaked up our knowledge and grown as an entrepreneur. At AWBC, we look forward to staying in touch with Nora as she grows past Momentum. We hope to keep Nora as a client and keep her involved in our programming and help her continue to grow.” Bouzihay is also thankful for the opportunity to become a part of a strong network of business owners who understand what the unique challenges of being a woman business owner as well as member of a minority group. “It’s very, very empowering to be around a group of women who are genuine and push each other to be successful,” Bouzihay said. “It’s very powerful to be around people who really want you to be successful and understand the struggle of being a female minority business owner in Arkansas.” With the one-year anniversary of her business coming up, Bouzihay is planning to celebrate by raising money for a cause she is passionate about. She will hold a gala event at the Great Hall in the Clinton Library on March 2 to raise money for Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar living on the border of Bangladesh. An estimated nearly 700,000 refugees, more than half of them children, are living in Bangladesh,. “I am very interested in a variety of humanitarian issues,” she said. “This one in particular hasn’t had as much media attention, and I thought what better way to bring its attention through a huge fundraiser for them here in Arkansas. This is a first for the Natural State,” she said. The gala will feature a “Muslims of the World” book tour stop. “Muslims of the World” tells the diverse stories of Muslims living in the U.S. and around the world. Illustrated throughout with moving photographs, each chapter focuses on different aspects of the Islamic faith and the many varying cultures it encompasses, offering tales of love, family, and faith while empowering Muslim women, refugees, and people of color. The event will also feature local youth performing songs and spoken word poetry, a live band, and cultural performances. Tickets for the gala can be At the conclusion of the five-week program, Bouzihay and the other participants will receive $500 in technical assistance that can be used toward the development of their businesses. Additionally, the Arkansas Women’s Business Center has found five generous vendors that have offered services, such as web development, legal counsel, graphic design, and brand consulting, to the participants at a discounted rate. Remix Ideas will also host a pitch challenge for some of the Momentum participants on Feb. 22 at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.]]> Eviction is cause, not just symptom, of poverty, author says /news-archive/2018/11/15/matthew-desmond-2/ Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:39:21 +0000 /news/?p=72682 ...]]> Princeton University professor and social scientist Matthew Desmond visited the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Nov. 13 to discuss his Pulitzer Prize winning book “,” which examines the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality. Desmond’s appearance was part of the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series. William Rockefeller, vice president of Winrock Farms and a board member of Winrock International, introduced Desmond, whose work earned him the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. “My grandfather believed if you invited everyone to the table, problems could be served,” Rockefeller said. One of the biggest problems facing Americans is an affordable housing crisis spurred by the high rate of evictions that lead families into homelessness and financial destitution. “We’re the richest country with the worst poverty,” Desmond said. Desmond interviewed 1,100 tenants in Milwaukee, searching for answers as to how eviction happens, how often it happens, and the long-term consequences of a family losing their home. He chronicled the plights of eight families living on the edge of survival in Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. One of the families – Arlene, a single mother, with a 14-year-old and 6-year-old son – moved half a dozen times in the months when Desmond was with her. What he observed was that eviction leaves people with fewer choices. “Families are forced to accept conditions in the harried aftermath of eviction,” he said. That often means paying more for substandard housing. As part of his research, Desmond spent months living in a mobile home park on Milwaukee’s south side, a rooming house on the city’s north side, in shelters and in abandoned homes. He worked alongside the families, watched their kids, slept on floors with them and ate with them. At the same time, he also sought to understand relationships between landlords and tenants. “I knew if I was going to figure it out, I needed landlords’ perspectives too,” Desmond said. To do so, he accompanied landlords as they collected rent and posted eviction notices. Desmond concludes that eviction is a cause, rather than merely a symptom, of poverty. Most poor renting families devote more than half of their income to housing, he said. Arlene was spending 88 percent of her income on rent, far more than the socially accepted norm of 30 percent. Desmond researched Milwaukee’s housing market and found that the city had 105,000 renter homes, with 40 evictions occurring every day. The likelihood of eviction tripled for renters with children. He wondered how Milwaukee’s eviction rate compared to the national rate, but discovered that the government doesn’t collect national data on evictions. That discovery led to Desmond’s creation of The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, where researchers and students have built the nation’s first database of evictions. They have collected more than 83 million records from 48 states and the District of Columbia. Data for most states is available “If we want more family stability, more community stability, we need fewer evictions,” Desmond said. “Home is the center of life. It’s our refuge from work, pressures of school, menace of the streets. Eviction causes loss. Families lose homes, kids lose their schools. You lose your community. You lose your stuff. Eviction comes with a mark or blemish that can prevent you from moving into a safe house, or even public housing. Eviction is a mark against your application.” Desmond told the audience, assembled in the Center for the Performing Arts, that bold political leadership with moral clarity is needed to advocate for affordable housing support. He believes housing support should be available to every family living below the poverty line. “It is well within our capacity,” he said. “If poverty persists in American, it’s not for lack of resources.” Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Desmond talks about the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor during the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Benjamin Krain]]>